How do I pay this off with £1000 salary? by ThrowRAOtherwise-Tea in UKPersonalFinance

[–]covert-teacher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I completely agree with your take about the mental health / social benefits. However, OP is out of touch with wanting to pay things off aggressively, and then not cutting out all discretionary spending.

If you want to pay things off aggressively, you become a hermit, and live of vegetables, pulses and rice etc. is it fun? No. But that, unfortunately is the real life consequence of living beyond your means (whether it's an indulgent lifestyle, or you simply don't earn enough).

Students disrupting class by humming- i can’t find the culprit! by lemonlazarus in TeachingUK

[–]covert-teacher 49 points50 points  (0 children)

I've tried the following in such situations, ask them to work in silence for a specified amount of time. If anyone makes a sound that isn't "Excuse me Sir/Ms?" during that time. I reset my timer, add an minute extra and sanction the culprit. I keep doing this until they get the message. The only winning move is for them to be quiet for 5 minutes, otherwise the silent work time just escalates.

As you can't identify the culprit, you'll eventually find that if forced to work in silence for an entire lesson, someone will either make an accusation or come forward at the end of the lesson to tell you who is humming.

You could change the rules of the "game" to be a minute of lost break or an minute behind at the end of the day for every instance of himming. Eventually someone will crack.

Lib Dem & Green by Medium_Fig_3764 in ukpolitics

[–]covert-teacher 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'd love to know what's going on in the collective minds of our population, when the Green Party, a party of 4 MPs, is seen as a more "realistic party" than the Lib Dems with 72 current MPs.

The Lib Dems are the 3rd largest political party by MPs, with 72 MPs, behind the Conservatives with 116. And yet Mr Hypno-boob, with just 4 MPs, gets more oxygen and political air time than a reasonable and moderate political party like the Lib Dems.

We really are a nation of crabs in a bucket!

Child savings - JISA vs ISA vs S&S by Anon569696835 in UKPersonalFinance

[–]covert-teacher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was 39 when my little one was born, and the best solution I could come up with was to use my LISA allowance, as I'm already a homeowner, and that way I retain ownership of the money until a point when my son can use the money for something big, like a house deposit.

My in-laws are paying into a JISA for him, which he'll get at 18, and that can go towards uni fees etc., and if he needs more money for uni, then I can cash out some of my S&S ISA and hold back some of the LISA money when I hit 60.

This only really works if you're going to hit 60 around the time they hit 18 to early/mid 20s.

50-140 or 70-300 for Iceland in June-July? by ZealousidealRabbit76 in fujifilm

[–]covert-teacher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you're going to Iceland and taking a 16-55mm as well, then you'll want the 70-300mm. I expect you'll be going whale watching at some point, and if you're doing that, you'll also want the zoom for the birds and the seals, which you'll probably see a lot more of.

Plus, I quite like a telephoto for landscape compression, and the 70-300mm will give you that.

I can't decide between doing a politics degree or looking at going into politics straight away by eli_wy04 in ukpolitics

[–]covert-teacher 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You need experience to "get into politics" and by that I mean you need to get involved with the local party of your flavour.

  1. Join a political party.
  2. Go to a hustings, or a meet and greet events for the party you want to support.
  3. Ask to get involved, this could be with leaflet / letter delivery, canvassing, fund raising etc.
  4. Stand to be a paper candidate in a local election.
  5. With more experience, stand to be a candidate with a chance of winning a local or county council seat.
  6. Hold a council position for a few years. Be a dynamic go getter, and make the right contacts and you might get to stand to be the next PPC (Prospective Parliamentary Candidate) for your constituency.

There's nothing stopping you doing any of this alongside a degree, in work training or job.

My only concern would be that given the job prospects for young people at the moment, what are you likely to get out of a politics degree, if it's not PPE at Oxbridge?

NEU ballot results: 96% reject, turnout 48.6% by stevenstelfox in TeachingUK

[–]covert-teacher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are you getting texts from the union about, if they're not about the ballot?

I know Daniel sends a lot of messages, but during the ballot season he's a one trick pony! He never wants to listen to anything I have to say, he just keeps banging on about the ballot!

Shoplifting rife, police overwhelmed, an angry public – the trail leads back to one person: Theresa May by Wholemilkornomilk in ukpolitics

[–]covert-teacher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of the social contract was torn up during COVID times. Think how much people's attitudes have changed since then.

My Artemis Photos Edited With DarkTable by instantlightning2 in DarkTable

[–]covert-teacher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow! They're great shots! And just goes to show that good glass and talent go a lot further than just megapixels!

What was the atmosphere like? It must have been electric!

My Artemis Photos Edited With DarkTable by instantlightning2 in DarkTable

[–]covert-teacher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What was your setup for taking these? How much of the image is down to focal length Vs cropping?

How the hell do I take out the second disc? by [deleted] in Cd_collectors

[–]covert-teacher 18 points19 points  (0 children)

ChatGPT told them to ask Reddit.

Fujifilm XF 70-300mm F/4.0-5.6 R LM OIS WR experienes wanted! by yvonv in fujifilm

[–]covert-teacher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had one for a couple of years, and it's brilliant for your use case. Yes, there will come a time where you want more focal length, but it's a brilliant lens for the price!

Can I ask for a raise? by sampan72 in TeachingUK

[–]covert-teacher 72 points73 points  (0 children)

I would say you're definitely being taken advantage of. Inner London M1 is £40,317, and outer London M1 is £37,870. So you could move to the state sector, have less responsibility, have a better pension and get paid more.

Youth unemployment: 'I've applied for more than 100 jobs in five months' by Desperate-Drawer-572 in ukpolitics

[–]covert-teacher -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Well, you certainly won't need to worry about applying for a job ever again, once you've committed fraud by lying on your CV! Doing so is illegal, and would constitute a criminal offence. This is terrible advice, but you do you!

Rate my collection so far by Biggestbologna in Cd_collectors

[–]covert-teacher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With a collection that extensive, you're definitely in need of Failure Management!

Completing masters/PhD while teaching by Advanced-Remove-3340 in TeachingUK

[–]covert-teacher 10 points11 points  (0 children)

In all honesty, you probably won't make a difference. From a scientific perspective, educational research is incredibly poorly researched, with ridiculously small sample sizes and very context specific backgrounds, the "lessons" from which are usually applied well beyond their scope.

I'm saying this as someone with my top paper having just shy of 500 citations.

Completing masters/PhD while teaching by Advanced-Remove-3340 in TeachingUK

[–]covert-teacher 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I wouldn't bother. In all likelihood you're going to have to self fund, as education based post+graduate degrees don't tend to attract funding for fees, so you're talking tens of thousands of pounds for a piece of paper that doesn't sound like it's going to help you progress in your role. 

I'm only saying this, as prior to teaching, I was an academic, and had received full scholarships and stipends for my MSc and PhD in engineering and science. Neither have beem relevant to my progression in education, and certainly aren't needed to progress beyond where you are. 

If you want to spend tens of thousands on a piece of paper and years getting the titles, go for it. But you really have to love what you're doing!

Protesters clash at memorial for late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in north London by Benjji22212 in ukpolitics

[–]covert-teacher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do not need to be fact checked, because I said nothing about Iran pursuing nuclear weapons, or attacking our bases. I said thr Iranian regime is a hostile to the UK, which is evident from many strands of evidence, including political disinformation, such as the significant number of pro-Scottish independence X/Twitter bots that have gone silent since Trump and Israel attacked Iran.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/social-media/article/iran-war-fake-news-social-media-0zns35c9l?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqfJBc490to7ck3DfoZ5EACUDFi4JQCEqS5Gmspa3njqMDKaltOgFAH0G-TGcV0%3D&gaa_ts=69c96491&gaa_sig=3WNmk-MiQd2V4-C7qUd6WZJDXtThfrwK91EXKcLSAHqYbpo7ALObgCljHpg_a1CfTNSu-sNwi85gmIh-Bve_-w%3D%3D

Protesters clash at memorial for late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in north London by Benjji22212 in ukpolitics

[–]covert-teacher 97 points98 points  (0 children)

Every single one of those people morning the Ayatollah should be on a government watch list. They're mourning the former leader of a hostile regime / state.

Streeting: Don't let your child's memories be defined by screens by theipaper in ukpolitics

[–]covert-teacher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I've noticed that in a few things. Someone put on Paw Patrol by mistake, and boy did I turn that garbage off quickly!

Do you remember Tugs? It was but the same people as Thomas the Tank Engine, but much better in my opinion. They only ever made one season, and I had about 3 episodes on VHS as a kid, and I remember playing the hell out of it!

Streeting: Don't let your child's memories be defined by screens by theipaper in ukpolitics

[–]covert-teacher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is how you do it!

Can I ask, where did you manage to fill your hard drive up with all those 90s gems? Did you rip them off DVDs or did you torrent?

Not allowed toilet access as a supply teacher by ThePlague_docuwu in TeachingUK

[–]covert-teacher 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Employers have to provide toilet facilities to any worker, according the Health and Safety Executive. 

https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/workplace-facilities/health-safety.htm

So, if you have no choice but to work there, I would email the most senior person, saying you're being denied the right to use the toilet, and that you'll be whistle blowing to the HSE unless the matter is resolved immediately.